Recent Presentations2024
November
Association for the Study of Higher Education Annual Conference
Am I a professional? A quantitative study of faculty professional identity
Chamis, Ella; Braught, Emily; BrckaLorenz, Allison
Association for the Study of Higher Education Annual Conference, Minneapolis, MN, 2024, November.
The field often takes the professional identities of its faculty for granted, and faculty professional identity development is largely understudied. In this person-centered quantitative study, we explore the importance of faculty professional identity and consider its influencing factors for development. Our findings provide clarity and guidance in developing faculty professional identity.
Full version
N/A
Examining the relationship between faculty identity and their civically engaged teaching practices
Jin, Seonmi; Zhang, Xiaoxia; BrckaLorenz, Allison
Association for the Study of Higher Education Annual Conference, Minneapolis, MN, 2024, November.
This study explores the relationship between facultyâ??s identity and their civically engaged teaching practices, applying the Diversity Learning Environment model (Hurtado et al., 2012). We used the Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (FSSE), which included 13,531 faculty responses from 65 participating institutions, and conducted a multi-level modeling analysis.
Full version
N/A
Exploring how inclusive name/pronoun policies and practices relate to quality of interactions
Feldman, Steven; Copeland, Olivia; BrckaLorenz, Allison
Association for the Study of Higher Education Annual Conference, Minneapolis, MN, 2024, November.
Using a large-scale, multi-institution dataset, we explore the relationship between name/pronoun policies and practices and college studentsâ?? quality of interactions with other students, advisors, faculty, staff, and administrators on campus. Findings indicate that more affirming policies and practices were associated with more positive quality of interactions, especially for transgender students.
Full version
May
Association for Institutional Research Forum
Complex Identities: Writing and Using Identity Demographic Questions
BrckaLorenz, Allison
Association for Institutional Research Forum, Denver, CO, 2024, May.
Examining educational quality and student or staff experiences within an institution means we must look at subgroups in the data we collect. Some defining characteristics of the respondent experience can be relatively easy to capture in a survey question, but others, particularly questions about identity, can be a challenge. Often the goals of good survey practice contrast with the variable and complex nature of identity. This session will first focus on how to balance the competing needs of creating clear, concise, and easily answerable questions on aspects of identity that are sensitive, complex, and not easily defined. We will also examine strategies for using and sharing the data and results gathered from complex identity questions. We will look at a variety of examples and scenarios, and participants should prepare to share and discuss their specific population challenges as well as any advice for working with complex identity demographics.
Full version
April
American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting
A Multi-Institutional Examination of Mind and Body Well-being for First-Generation
Yuhas, Bridget; Copeland, Olivia; Feldman, Steven; BrckaLorenz, Allison
American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA, 2024, April.
First-generation students (FGs) often face unique challenges in navigating collegiate experiences which can impact their well-being. In this study, we examine undergraduate FGsâ?? mind and body well-being using data from two large-scale multi-institutional data sets. Specifically, we examine relationships between stressors and supports and assess the extent that FGs know how to get help at their institution for a variety of well-being issues. Results imply that FGs generally feel less institutional support for their well-being, that inverse relationships exist for mind and body stressors and institutional supports, and that results for knowing how to get help are mixed. Implications point to continued disaggregation to better understand FGs experiences and recognizing the importance of social capital to FGs success.
Full version
N/A
Connecting College Student Civic Engagement and Cultural Center Involvement
Copeland, Olivia; Feldman, Steven; BrckaLorenz, Allison
American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA, 2024, April.
In this study, we explore the relationship between cultural center involvement and college studentsâ?? civic engagement outcomes. We utilize data from a large-scale, multi-institutional data set to run a series of regression analyses. Findings indicate that participating in the activities of a cultural center positively correlates with higher levels of civic engagement skills and abilities as well as frequency of civic engagement. We also used effect coding in our models to explore sub-group differences within gender, sexual, and racial identity categories. Disaggregating by identity, our results indicate some disparities among students prior to considering their cultural center involvement. These findings present a significant counter to the widespread attack on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, evidencing the continued relevance and positive influence of cultural centers on all students.
Full version
N/A
Faculty Perceptions of Disciplinary Cultures and Their Relationship to Teaching: Validating Becher's Convergent-Divergent Dimension
Hiller, Stephen C.; Braught, Emily; Nelson Laird, Thomas
American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA, 2024, April.
Becherâ??s (1989) seminal work on academic disciplines proposed the Convergent-Divergent dimension to capture one social dynamic that distinguished disciplinary cultures, and yet little work has explored how the Convergent-Divergent dimension relates to faculty teaching practices. This study operationalizes this dimension in items appended to the Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (FSSE). With nearly 700 responses from faculty in 98 disciplines, this study examines the relationship of a Cultural Convergence construct with faculty teaching practices and whether faculty taught similarly to their disciplinary peers. Findings indicate that cultural convergence does not influence teaching practices in four of five areas, though the more convergent a discipline, the more faculty tend to teach similarly to their peers in three of five areas of teaching.
Full version
N/A
Faculty Perceptions of Their Disciplinary Cultures: Re-Evaluating Biglanâ??s Dimensions
Braught, Emily; Hiller, Stephen C.; Nelson Laird, Thomas
American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA, 2024, April.
Disciplinary cultures are an important part of understanding the faculty experience. For fifty years, the Biglan dimensions have been frequently relied on by researchers interested in considering disciplinary differences as parts of their studies; however, applying a cultural lens draws attention to the possibility that over time, disciplinary cultures may have changed. Through exploring faculty perceptions of their disciplines using an item set derived from key cultural aspects of Biglanâ??s dimensions, compared to the Biglan dimensions, this exploratory study offers insights into the evolution of disciplinary cultures, highlighting the variation and fluidity of disciplinary cultures that faculty experience in their disciplines today.
Full version
Community-Engaged Alliance Summit & Research Symposium
Options for Assessing the Faculty Practice in HIPs
BrckaLorenz, Allison
Community-Engaged Alliance Summit & Research Symposium, Bloomington, IN, 2024, April.
This session discusses options for assessing faculty involvement in engaging students in high-impact practices (HIPs). We will talk about assessing faculty use of effective, educational, high-impact practices as well as ways to create environments that support and motivate faculty to do their best work engaging students in HIPs.
Full version
March
AACU Diversity, Equity, and Student Success
Supporting and retaining faculty with diverse community, workload satisfaction, and feeling valued
BrckaLorenz, A., Chamis, E., Priddie, C.
AACU Diversity, Equity, and Student Success, Philadelphia, PA, 2024, March.
Higher education continues to struggle in efforts to hire, support, and retain diverse faculty. Using a conceptual framework that focuses on how environments contribute to facultyâ??s ability to thrive and do their best work as educators, we will explore how faculty structural diversity (a proxy for a diverse and inclusive community), satisfaction with work-life and within-work balance, and perceptions of being valued by their institution relate to their intentions to stay at their institution, the professoriate, or academia altogether. Join this session to discuss how these aspects of environment relate to faculty retention and to contribute to a growing collection of ideas about how to create community, workload satisfaction, and perceptions of institutional value for diverse faculty. Participants will leave this session with thoughts on how these issues manifest on their campus and ideas for how to assess and improve their own efforts to support and retain diverse faculty.
Full version
ACPA Annual Convention
Connecting College Student Civic Engagement and Cultural Center Involvement
Copeland, Oliva M., Feldman, Steven, BrckaLorenz, Allison
ACPA Annual Convention, Chicago, IL, 2024, March.
In this study, we explore the relationship between cultural center involvement and college studentsâ?? civic engagement outcomes. We utilize data from a large-scale, multi-institutional data set to run a series of regression analyses. Findings indicate that participating in the activities of a cultural center positively correlates with higher levels of civic engagement skills and abilities as well as frequency of civic engagement. We also used effect coding in our models to explore sub-group differences within gender, sexual, and racial identity categories. Disaggregating by identity, our results indicate some disparities among students prior to considering their cultural center involvement. These findings present a significant counter to the widespread attack on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, evidencing the continued relevance and positive influence of cultural centers on all students.
Full version
N/A
Investigating the Campus Pride Indexâ??s Relationship to Perceived Student Support
Copeland, Olivia M., Feldman, Steven, BrckaLorenz, Allison
ACPA Annual Convention, Chicago, IL, 2024, March.
The Campus Pride Index (CPI) is often used as a litmus test for assessing the level of LGBTQ+ inclusion and support within higher education institutions. However, little research has explicitly examined the relationship between CPI rating and LGBTQ+ studentsâ?? perceptions of supportiveness. To explore this, we analyzed 118,244 student responses about their institutionâ??s support for diverse sexual orientations and gender identities. Results indicate that at top-rated CPI institutions, LGBQ+ students had lower perceptions of support than their peers. We discuss the implications of these results, focusing on how institutions may uncritically utilize CPI as the ceiling for LGBTQ+ support rather than a minimum, with ideas for how student affairs practitioners can utilize CPI while also going beyond CPIâ??s metrics.
Full version
NASPA Annual Conference
Beyond The Classroom: Student Perceptions of Faculty Support for Mental Health and Well-Being
Russell, Alethia; Chamis, Ella; Kinzie, Jillian
NASPA Annual Conference, Seattle, WA, 2024, March.
The 2023 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) included a new MHWB topical module that invited undergraduates to respond to an open-ended prompt to describe one way their institution supported their MHWB. We used thematic analysis to examine more than 13,000 responses to this open-ended prompt. Findings revealed that students perceived faculty serve in three distinct roles that supplement and, in some cases, supplant institution support for MHWB. Our paper session further details those findings.
Full version
N/A
Promoting Campuswide Use of NSSE Data: Fostering Student Engagement, Social Identity, and a Sense of Belonging
Kinzie, J., Russell, A., & Wenger, K.
NASPA Annual Conference, Seattle, WA, 2024, March.
Studentsâ?? sense of belonging and social identities matter to engagement. In 2023, the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) revised items with a critical eye toward inclusion by expanding social identity questions so students see themselves in response options and to make the survey more relevant for todayâ??s students. This interactive session features an overview and discussion of recent NSSE results for social identities and belonging and introduces two resources for inclusive and campuswide data sharing and use in student affairs.
Full version
January
AACU Annual Meeting
Assessing College Student Mental Health and Well-Being: Implications for Campus Support and Promising Practice
Kinzie, Jillian; BrckaLorenz, Allison; Chambers, Tony; Huber, Susan; Yuhas, Bridget
AACU Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, 2024, January.
Concern about college studentsâ?? mental health and the need for institutions to provide more support are on the rise. This session will draw from three research projectsâ??Student Well-Being Institutional Support Survey (SWISS), National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) Mental Health & Well-Being module, and the Center for Healthy Minds and Human Flourishing courseâ??to combine assessments and expand understanding of student mental health, perceptions of support, and effective interventions. We will highlight the most current and important findings about college student mental health and well-being, discuss implications for colleges and universities and considerations for equity, and exchange ideas about campus interventions that show the most promise.
Full version
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Summit
A Quantitative Review of Faculty Practices and Perceptions of the Scholarship for Teaching and Learning
Braught, Emily; BrckaLorenz, Allison
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Summit, 2024.
How do faculty perceive and interact with scholarship for teaching and learning? This session will review findings from the 2022 and 2023 Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (FSSE), exploring the extent to which classroom- and institutional-level assessment efforts are used to make improvements and hone teaching practices, the extent to which faculty collaborate and build community with one another to share out teaching practices, and the extent to which external motivations influence faculty frequency of practices related to the scholarship of teaching and learning.
Full version
2023
November
Association for the Study of Higher Education Annual Conference
Examining campus support systems for LGBQ+ college students' mental health and well-being
Feldman, Steven; BrckaLorenz, Allison
Association for the Study of Higher Education Annual Conference, Minneapolis, MN, 2023, November.
In this study, we explore LGBQ+ college studentsâ?? experiences related to mental health and wellbeing, using the Proud & Thriving Framework. Our research utilizes a large scale, multi-institutional, quantitative and qualitative data set that includes a variety of institutional types and geographic locations across the United States. We use a series of OLS regression analyses and descriptive analyses to explore LGBQ+ studentsâ?? difficulties, support networks, knowledge about institution-provided supports, and student-suggested ways that their institution has supported their mental health and well-being. We find that large portions of LGBQ+ students do not know how to get help with various difficulties and that students within the LGBQ+ community had differing relationships with risks and supports depending on their specific LGBQ+ identity such as asexual students struggling less with workload-related issues and pansexual students struggling more with health-related issues than their LGBQ+ peers. We conclude with suggestions for campus staff, faculty, and higher education researchers on tangible ways that they can work to improve campus environments and experiences for LGBQ+ college students.
Full version
N/A
Somewhere to Stay and Thrive: Relationships between Persistence and Environments for Diverse Faculty
BrckaLorenz, Allison; Christiaens, Roman; Feldman, Steven; Russell, Alethia; Wenger, Kevin
Association for the Study of Higher Education Annual Conference, Minneapolis, MN, 2023, November.
As colleges and universities invest in efforts to cultivate diverse learning environments, a primary focus has been hiring and retaining faculty with underrepresented and marginalized backgrounds. Using data from a large-scale, multi-institution quantitative data set, we explore how faculty persistence relates to aspects of a faculty memberâ??s environment. We found that faculty perceptions of work-life balance and within-work balance were the strongest indicators of a faculty memberâ??s intentions to persist. Relationships between persistence and aspects of environment tended to be strongest for LGBQ+ faculty. Institutions interested in supporting and retaining diverse faculty can use these findings to better understand their institutionâ??s environment for faculty and pinpoint areas to implement change.
Full version
October
Assessment Institute
Beyond Demographics: Incorporating Equitable and Inclusive Language about Student Identities in Surveys
Miller, Angela; BrckaLorenz, Allison; Kilgo, Cindy Ann; Priddie, Christen; Wenger, Kevin; Zhu, Yihan
Assessment Institute, Indianapolis, IN, 2023, October.
A new workgroup within the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) focuses on Equity in Survey Design, Administration, Analysis, and Reporting (ESDAR). The workgroup has made changes to survey items for the 2023 administration. These revisions were aimed at more inclusive and equitable language, particularly related to items asking about student identities such as gender identity, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, first-generation status, and Greek life participation. Attendees will learn about the rationale behind these revisions, and be asked to reflect on whether their own institutional assessments use equitable and inclusive language.
Full version
N/A
Faculty Members are Not the Problem: Improving Faculty Teaching Environments to Foster Teaching Excellence
BrckaLorenz, Allison; Nelson Laird, Tom
Assessment Institute, Indianapolis, IN, 2023, October.
Given challenges with technology, the pressures of the academy, political meddling in higher education, inequitable conditions, and students whose needs are complex and changing rapidly, faculty members find themselves struggling with workload, their own health issues, competing priorities, and how to be effective teachers in a challenging time. Using data from two large-scale multi-institution assessment projects, we invite you to examine with us aspects of faculty teaching environments that contribute to faculty members' success as educators. By using measures of, for example, institutional policies and processes, access to instructional resources, and institutional climates for diversity, we will illustrate how a better understanding of the teaching environment can improve faculty development efforts. Join us for an exchange of ideas about ways to foster environments that motivate teaching excellence and support faculty in both their work and personal lives.
Full version
LGBTQIA2S+ Higher Education Research Symposium
Beyond the score: Investigating the relationship between the Campus Pride Index and perceived student support
Copeland, Olivia; Feldman, Steven; BrckaLorenz, Allison
LGBTQIA2S+ Higher Education Research Symposium, 2023, October.
Full version
June
Association for Institutional Research Forum
Measuring studentsâ?? socioeconomic status using different frameworks and analyses
Hu, Tien-Ling; BrckaLorenz, Allison
Association for Institutional Research Forum, Cleveland, OH, 2023, June.
Different from the traditional measures of SES using proxies for economic capital such as low-income status and federal financial aid that do not include all the theoretical considerations of SES, this session compiles several SES and cultural capital-related frameworks, survey items, and data analyses and present several alternative ways to measure SES in the field of higher education. Audiences in this session will learn about several SES measures and data analyses. In addition to the presentation, an interactive discussion will be demonstrated to create a mutual learning environment between presenters and audiences. The session provides researchers with alternative ways to study student success for the low-income student population in higher education.
Full version
May
N/A
Building on Tradition: Approaches to More Inclusive Data Analysis
BrckaLorenz, Allison; Hu, Tien-Ling
Association for Institutional Research Forum, Cleveland, OH, 2023, May.
Institutional research and assessment depends heavily on our ability to characterize the students we study into categories and on our inclination to generalize the results. Although this work is necessary for understanding student experiences, it does present challenges for critical and inclusive approaches to data analysis. In this session, we will discuss common issues and solutions associated with inclusive data analysis by investigating a series of data analysis examples that feature small sample sizes for marginalized students. We will discuss traditional variable-centered versus person-centered methodological approaches, strategies for creating groups to use in comparative analyses, challenges in quantitatively capturing aspects of identity, and tips for communicating the results, validity, and data quality of such analyses to broad audiences.
Full version
N/A
Complex Identities: Writing and Using Identity Demographic Questions
BrckaLorenz, Allison
Association for Institutional Research Forum, Denver, CO, 2023, May.
Examining educational quality and student or staff experiences within an institution means we must look at subgroups in the data we collect. Some defining characteristics of the respondent experience can be relatively easy to capture in a survey question, but others, particularly questions about identity, can be a challenge. Often the goals of good survey practice contrast with the variable and complex nature of identity. This session will first focus on how to balance the competing needs of creating clear, concise, and easily answerable questions on aspects of identity that are sensitive, complex, and not easily defined. We will also examine strategies for using and sharing the data and results gathered from complex identity questions. We will look at a variety of examples and scenarios, and participants should prepare to share and discuss their specific population challenges as well as any advice for working with complex identity demographics.
Full version
April
American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting
Exploring Relationships Between Faculty Values for and Practice in Developing Student Quantitative Reasoning
Hu, Tien-Ling & BrckaLorenz, Allison
American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, 2023, April.
The American Association of Colleges and Universities listed quantitative literacy as an essential practical skill. Colleges and universities play a key role in preparing students with career skills. Building on two critical perspectives: the importance of quality teaching to quality learning and the importance of quantitative reasoning in workforce success, the study explores the relationship between faculty values for quantitative reasoning, how much faculty structure their courses to help develop studentsâ?? real-world skills, and to what extent faculty encourage students to participate in career-related activities. The findings show that faculty values for the importance of quantitative reasoning significantly predicted how they structure their courses to help develop studentsâ?? numerical skills and how they encourage students to participate in career-related activities.
Full version
N/A
Faculty Feelings Matter: Environmental Experiences of Queer Faculty of Color
BrckaLorenz, Allison; Chamis, Ella; Feldman, Steven
American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, 2023, April.
Despite an emphasis on diversifying the professoriate, higher education has failed to make significant progress in recruiting and retaining diverse faculty in the academy. Literature points to issues of campus climate, discrimination, and workplace stress as common reasons for diverse faculty to leave their positions. Using the College + University Teaching Environment framework, Quare Theory, critical methodological philosophies, and a large-scale multi-institution quantitative dataset, this study examines affective components of a faculty environment for queer faculty, faculty of color, and queer faculty of color. Results indicate strong relationships between perceptions of support, sense of belonging, mental health, and stress with faculty persistence in their role as well as additional stress for LGBQ+ faculty of color.
Full version
March
AACU Diversity, Equity, and Student Success
An Examination of Environments That Support and Retain Diverse Faculty
BrckaLorenz, Allison; Chamis, Ella
AACU Diversity, Equity, and Student Success, Henderson, NV, 2023, March.
Despite an emphasis on diversifying the professoriate, higher education has failed to make significant progress in supporting and retaining diverse faculty in the academy. In this session, we will present a conceptual framework grounded in empirical research that can guide our understanding of how institutions can create environments to support and retain diverse faculty as well as motivate teaching excellence. Join us for a discussion about the components of this framework, supported by qualitative and quantitative findings from studies that have used this framework as a guide. Participants will leave this session with thoughts on how these components manifest on their campus, ideas for how to assess the teaching environments of their faculty, and suggestions from other attendees about their efforts to support and retain diverse faculty.
Full version
February
Annual Conference on The First-Year Experience
Changing Expectations? Trends in Student Engagement Expectations and Academic Beliefs
Cole, James & Kinzie, Jillian
Annual Conference on The First-Year Experience, Los Angeles, CA, 2023, February.
The past several years has presented many challenges to higher education, including how to effectively align campus support services and academic resources to support students. Using data from Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement (BCSSE) and National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), this session will illustrate trends in student expectations and beliefs. We will also use data from individual campuses (de-identified) to illustrate changes to their entering student body and the connection to actual behaviors reported several months later on NSSE. Discussion will focus on how campuses can keep abreast of student trends and how to best support student success.
Full version
N/A
Sense of Belonging in the First Year of College
Wenger, Kevin & Cole, James
Annual Conference on The First-Year Experience, Los Angeles, CA, 2023, February.
Studies have demonstrated the important role of sense of belonging to first-year persistence and overall academic success. Using data from the Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement (BCSSE) and the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), this session will examine entering first-year student expected academic expectations, beliefs, and prior experiences that influence sense of belonging for students near the end of their first-year of college. Results will focus in interventions that can increase social sense of belonging, as well as ways to identify students that may benefit from efforts to increase sense of belonging on their campus.
Full version
First-Year Experience and Students in Transition Conference FYE
First Year Seminars' Influence on Student Engagement and Belonging
Kinzie, J., & Wenger, K.
First-Year Experience and Students in Transition Conference FYE, Los Angeles, CA, 2023, February.
First-Year seminars (FYS) have been vigorously studied and found to positively influence persistence, engagement, and student success. This session will explore new research from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) to understand the relationship between seminars and student engagement, intent to return, and sense of belonging, and how results vary by a range of student identities. Even more, new results from NSSE 2022 distinguish the influence of a success skills-based course from an academic first-year seminar. Join us to explore this evidence and discuss what it suggests for efforts to enhance engagement and equity in first-year student success.
Full version
January
AACU Annual Meeting
Faculty Teaching Environments: Supporting & Retaining Diverse Faculty
BrckaLorenz, Allison; Chamis, Ella
AACU Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA, 2023, January.
Despite an emphasis on diversifying the professoriate, higher education has failed to make significant progress in supporting and retaining diverse faculty in the academy. Literature points to issues of campus climate, discrimination, and workplace stress as common reasons for diverse faculty to leave their positions. In this session, we will present a conceptual framework grounded in empirical research that can guide our understanding of how institutions can create environments to support and retain diverse faculty as well as motivate teaching excellence. Join us for a discussion about the components of this framework, supported by qualitative and quantitative findings from studies that have used this framework as a guide. Participants will leave this session with thoughts on how these components manifest on their campuses, ideas for how to assess the teaching environments of their faculty, and suggestions from other attendees about their efforts to support and retain diverse faculty.
Full version
Am I a professional? A quantitative study of faculty professional identity
Chamis, Ella; Braught, Emily; BrckaLorenz, Allison
Association for the Study of Higher Education Annual Conference, Minneapolis, MN, 2024, November.
The field often takes the professional identities of its faculty for granted, and faculty professional identity development is largely understudied. In this person-centered quantitative study, we explore the importance of faculty professional identity and consider its influencing factors for development. Our findings provide clarity and guidance in developing faculty professional identity.
Full version
Examining the relationship between faculty identity and their civically engaged teaching practices
Jin, Seonmi; Zhang, Xiaoxia; BrckaLorenz, Allison
Association for the Study of Higher Education Annual Conference, Minneapolis, MN, 2024, November.
This study explores the relationship between facultyâ??s identity and their civically engaged teaching practices, applying the Diversity Learning Environment model (Hurtado et al., 2012). We used the Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (FSSE), which included 13,531 faculty responses from 65 participating institutions, and conducted a multi-level modeling analysis.
Full version
Exploring how inclusive name/pronoun policies and practices relate to quality of interactions
Feldman, Steven; Copeland, Olivia; BrckaLorenz, Allison
Association for the Study of Higher Education Annual Conference, Minneapolis, MN, 2024, November.
Using a large-scale, multi-institution dataset, we explore the relationship between name/pronoun policies and practices and college studentsâ?? quality of interactions with other students, advisors, faculty, staff, and administrators on campus. Findings indicate that more affirming policies and practices were associated with more positive quality of interactions, especially for transgender students.
Full version
Complex Identities: Writing and Using Identity Demographic Questions
BrckaLorenz, Allison
Association for Institutional Research Forum, Denver, CO, 2024, May.
Examining educational quality and student or staff experiences within an institution means we must look at subgroups in the data we collect. Some defining characteristics of the respondent experience can be relatively easy to capture in a survey question, but others, particularly questions about identity, can be a challenge. Often the goals of good survey practice contrast with the variable and complex nature of identity. This session will first focus on how to balance the competing needs of creating clear, concise, and easily answerable questions on aspects of identity that are sensitive, complex, and not easily defined. We will also examine strategies for using and sharing the data and results gathered from complex identity questions. We will look at a variety of examples and scenarios, and participants should prepare to share and discuss their specific population challenges as well as any advice for working with complex identity demographics.
Full version
A Multi-Institutional Examination of Mind and Body Well-being for First-Generation
Yuhas, Bridget; Copeland, Olivia; Feldman, Steven; BrckaLorenz, Allison
American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA, 2024, April.
First-generation students (FGs) often face unique challenges in navigating collegiate experiences which can impact their well-being. In this study, we examine undergraduate FGsâ?? mind and body well-being using data from two large-scale multi-institutional data sets. Specifically, we examine relationships between stressors and supports and assess the extent that FGs know how to get help at their institution for a variety of well-being issues. Results imply that FGs generally feel less institutional support for their well-being, that inverse relationships exist for mind and body stressors and institutional supports, and that results for knowing how to get help are mixed. Implications point to continued disaggregation to better understand FGs experiences and recognizing the importance of social capital to FGs success.
Full version
Connecting College Student Civic Engagement and Cultural Center Involvement
Copeland, Olivia; Feldman, Steven; BrckaLorenz, Allison
American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA, 2024, April.
In this study, we explore the relationship between cultural center involvement and college studentsâ?? civic engagement outcomes. We utilize data from a large-scale, multi-institutional data set to run a series of regression analyses. Findings indicate that participating in the activities of a cultural center positively correlates with higher levels of civic engagement skills and abilities as well as frequency of civic engagement. We also used effect coding in our models to explore sub-group differences within gender, sexual, and racial identity categories. Disaggregating by identity, our results indicate some disparities among students prior to considering their cultural center involvement. These findings present a significant counter to the widespread attack on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, evidencing the continued relevance and positive influence of cultural centers on all students.
Full version
Faculty Perceptions of Disciplinary Cultures and Their Relationship to Teaching: Validating Becher's Convergent-Divergent Dimension
Hiller, Stephen C.; Braught, Emily; Nelson Laird, Thomas
American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA, 2024, April.
Becherâ??s (1989) seminal work on academic disciplines proposed the Convergent-Divergent dimension to capture one social dynamic that distinguished disciplinary cultures, and yet little work has explored how the Convergent-Divergent dimension relates to faculty teaching practices. This study operationalizes this dimension in items appended to the Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (FSSE). With nearly 700 responses from faculty in 98 disciplines, this study examines the relationship of a Cultural Convergence construct with faculty teaching practices and whether faculty taught similarly to their disciplinary peers. Findings indicate that cultural convergence does not influence teaching practices in four of five areas, though the more convergent a discipline, the more faculty tend to teach similarly to their peers in three of five areas of teaching.
Full version
Faculty Perceptions of Their Disciplinary Cultures: Re-Evaluating Biglanâ??s Dimensions
Braught, Emily; Hiller, Stephen C.; Nelson Laird, Thomas
American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA, 2024, April.
Disciplinary cultures are an important part of understanding the faculty experience. For fifty years, the Biglan dimensions have been frequently relied on by researchers interested in considering disciplinary differences as parts of their studies; however, applying a cultural lens draws attention to the possibility that over time, disciplinary cultures may have changed. Through exploring faculty perceptions of their disciplines using an item set derived from key cultural aspects of Biglanâ??s dimensions, compared to the Biglan dimensions, this exploratory study offers insights into the evolution of disciplinary cultures, highlighting the variation and fluidity of disciplinary cultures that faculty experience in their disciplines today.
Full version
Options for Assessing the Faculty Practice in HIPs
BrckaLorenz, Allison
Community-Engaged Alliance Summit & Research Symposium, Bloomington, IN, 2024, April.
This session discusses options for assessing faculty involvement in engaging students in high-impact practices (HIPs). We will talk about assessing faculty use of effective, educational, high-impact practices as well as ways to create environments that support and motivate faculty to do their best work engaging students in HIPs.
Full version
Supporting and retaining faculty with diverse community, workload satisfaction, and feeling valued
BrckaLorenz, A., Chamis, E., Priddie, C.
AACU Diversity, Equity, and Student Success, Philadelphia, PA, 2024, March.
Higher education continues to struggle in efforts to hire, support, and retain diverse faculty. Using a conceptual framework that focuses on how environments contribute to facultyâ??s ability to thrive and do their best work as educators, we will explore how faculty structural diversity (a proxy for a diverse and inclusive community), satisfaction with work-life and within-work balance, and perceptions of being valued by their institution relate to their intentions to stay at their institution, the professoriate, or academia altogether. Join this session to discuss how these aspects of environment relate to faculty retention and to contribute to a growing collection of ideas about how to create community, workload satisfaction, and perceptions of institutional value for diverse faculty. Participants will leave this session with thoughts on how these issues manifest on their campus and ideas for how to assess and improve their own efforts to support and retain diverse faculty.
Full version
Connecting College Student Civic Engagement and Cultural Center Involvement
Copeland, Oliva M., Feldman, Steven, BrckaLorenz, Allison
ACPA Annual Convention, Chicago, IL, 2024, March.
In this study, we explore the relationship between cultural center involvement and college studentsâ?? civic engagement outcomes. We utilize data from a large-scale, multi-institutional data set to run a series of regression analyses. Findings indicate that participating in the activities of a cultural center positively correlates with higher levels of civic engagement skills and abilities as well as frequency of civic engagement. We also used effect coding in our models to explore sub-group differences within gender, sexual, and racial identity categories. Disaggregating by identity, our results indicate some disparities among students prior to considering their cultural center involvement. These findings present a significant counter to the widespread attack on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, evidencing the continued relevance and positive influence of cultural centers on all students.
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Investigating the Campus Pride Indexâ??s Relationship to Perceived Student Support
Copeland, Olivia M., Feldman, Steven, BrckaLorenz, Allison
ACPA Annual Convention, Chicago, IL, 2024, March.
The Campus Pride Index (CPI) is often used as a litmus test for assessing the level of LGBTQ+ inclusion and support within higher education institutions. However, little research has explicitly examined the relationship between CPI rating and LGBTQ+ studentsâ?? perceptions of supportiveness. To explore this, we analyzed 118,244 student responses about their institutionâ??s support for diverse sexual orientations and gender identities. Results indicate that at top-rated CPI institutions, LGBQ+ students had lower perceptions of support than their peers. We discuss the implications of these results, focusing on how institutions may uncritically utilize CPI as the ceiling for LGBTQ+ support rather than a minimum, with ideas for how student affairs practitioners can utilize CPI while also going beyond CPIâ??s metrics.
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Beyond The Classroom: Student Perceptions of Faculty Support for Mental Health and Well-Being
Russell, Alethia; Chamis, Ella; Kinzie, Jillian
NASPA Annual Conference, Seattle, WA, 2024, March.
The 2023 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) included a new MHWB topical module that invited undergraduates to respond to an open-ended prompt to describe one way their institution supported their MHWB. We used thematic analysis to examine more than 13,000 responses to this open-ended prompt. Findings revealed that students perceived faculty serve in three distinct roles that supplement and, in some cases, supplant institution support for MHWB. Our paper session further details those findings.
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Promoting Campuswide Use of NSSE Data: Fostering Student Engagement, Social Identity, and a Sense of Belonging
Kinzie, J., Russell, A., & Wenger, K.
NASPA Annual Conference, Seattle, WA, 2024, March.
Studentsâ?? sense of belonging and social identities matter to engagement. In 2023, the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) revised items with a critical eye toward inclusion by expanding social identity questions so students see themselves in response options and to make the survey more relevant for todayâ??s students. This interactive session features an overview and discussion of recent NSSE results for social identities and belonging and introduces two resources for inclusive and campuswide data sharing and use in student affairs.
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Assessing College Student Mental Health and Well-Being: Implications for Campus Support and Promising Practice
Kinzie, Jillian; BrckaLorenz, Allison; Chambers, Tony; Huber, Susan; Yuhas, Bridget
AACU Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, 2024, January.
Concern about college studentsâ?? mental health and the need for institutions to provide more support are on the rise. This session will draw from three research projectsâ??Student Well-Being Institutional Support Survey (SWISS), National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) Mental Health & Well-Being module, and the Center for Healthy Minds and Human Flourishing courseâ??to combine assessments and expand understanding of student mental health, perceptions of support, and effective interventions. We will highlight the most current and important findings about college student mental health and well-being, discuss implications for colleges and universities and considerations for equity, and exchange ideas about campus interventions that show the most promise.
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A Quantitative Review of Faculty Practices and Perceptions of the Scholarship for Teaching and Learning
Braught, Emily; BrckaLorenz, Allison
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Summit, 2024.
How do faculty perceive and interact with scholarship for teaching and learning? This session will review findings from the 2022 and 2023 Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (FSSE), exploring the extent to which classroom- and institutional-level assessment efforts are used to make improvements and hone teaching practices, the extent to which faculty collaborate and build community with one another to share out teaching practices, and the extent to which external motivations influence faculty frequency of practices related to the scholarship of teaching and learning.
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Examining campus support systems for LGBQ+ college students' mental health and well-being
Feldman, Steven; BrckaLorenz, Allison
Association for the Study of Higher Education Annual Conference, Minneapolis, MN, 2023, November.
In this study, we explore LGBQ+ college studentsâ?? experiences related to mental health and wellbeing, using the Proud & Thriving Framework. Our research utilizes a large scale, multi-institutional, quantitative and qualitative data set that includes a variety of institutional types and geographic locations across the United States. We use a series of OLS regression analyses and descriptive analyses to explore LGBQ+ studentsâ?? difficulties, support networks, knowledge about institution-provided supports, and student-suggested ways that their institution has supported their mental health and well-being. We find that large portions of LGBQ+ students do not know how to get help with various difficulties and that students within the LGBQ+ community had differing relationships with risks and supports depending on their specific LGBQ+ identity such as asexual students struggling less with workload-related issues and pansexual students struggling more with health-related issues than their LGBQ+ peers. We conclude with suggestions for campus staff, faculty, and higher education researchers on tangible ways that they can work to improve campus environments and experiences for LGBQ+ college students.
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Somewhere to Stay and Thrive: Relationships between Persistence and Environments for Diverse Faculty
BrckaLorenz, Allison; Christiaens, Roman; Feldman, Steven; Russell, Alethia; Wenger, Kevin
Association for the Study of Higher Education Annual Conference, Minneapolis, MN, 2023, November.
As colleges and universities invest in efforts to cultivate diverse learning environments, a primary focus has been hiring and retaining faculty with underrepresented and marginalized backgrounds. Using data from a large-scale, multi-institution quantitative data set, we explore how faculty persistence relates to aspects of a faculty memberâ??s environment. We found that faculty perceptions of work-life balance and within-work balance were the strongest indicators of a faculty memberâ??s intentions to persist. Relationships between persistence and aspects of environment tended to be strongest for LGBQ+ faculty. Institutions interested in supporting and retaining diverse faculty can use these findings to better understand their institutionâ??s environment for faculty and pinpoint areas to implement change.
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Beyond Demographics: Incorporating Equitable and Inclusive Language about Student Identities in Surveys
Miller, Angela; BrckaLorenz, Allison; Kilgo, Cindy Ann; Priddie, Christen; Wenger, Kevin; Zhu, Yihan
Assessment Institute, Indianapolis, IN, 2023, October.
A new workgroup within the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) focuses on Equity in Survey Design, Administration, Analysis, and Reporting (ESDAR). The workgroup has made changes to survey items for the 2023 administration. These revisions were aimed at more inclusive and equitable language, particularly related to items asking about student identities such as gender identity, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, first-generation status, and Greek life participation. Attendees will learn about the rationale behind these revisions, and be asked to reflect on whether their own institutional assessments use equitable and inclusive language.
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Faculty Members are Not the Problem: Improving Faculty Teaching Environments to Foster Teaching Excellence
BrckaLorenz, Allison; Nelson Laird, Tom
Assessment Institute, Indianapolis, IN, 2023, October.
Given challenges with technology, the pressures of the academy, political meddling in higher education, inequitable conditions, and students whose needs are complex and changing rapidly, faculty members find themselves struggling with workload, their own health issues, competing priorities, and how to be effective teachers in a challenging time. Using data from two large-scale multi-institution assessment projects, we invite you to examine with us aspects of faculty teaching environments that contribute to faculty members' success as educators. By using measures of, for example, institutional policies and processes, access to instructional resources, and institutional climates for diversity, we will illustrate how a better understanding of the teaching environment can improve faculty development efforts. Join us for an exchange of ideas about ways to foster environments that motivate teaching excellence and support faculty in both their work and personal lives.
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Beyond the score: Investigating the relationship between the Campus Pride Index and perceived student support
Copeland, Olivia; Feldman, Steven; BrckaLorenz, Allison
LGBTQIA2S+ Higher Education Research Symposium, 2023, October.
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Measuring studentsâ?? socioeconomic status using different frameworks and analyses
Hu, Tien-Ling; BrckaLorenz, Allison
Association for Institutional Research Forum, Cleveland, OH, 2023, June.
Different from the traditional measures of SES using proxies for economic capital such as low-income status and federal financial aid that do not include all the theoretical considerations of SES, this session compiles several SES and cultural capital-related frameworks, survey items, and data analyses and present several alternative ways to measure SES in the field of higher education. Audiences in this session will learn about several SES measures and data analyses. In addition to the presentation, an interactive discussion will be demonstrated to create a mutual learning environment between presenters and audiences. The session provides researchers with alternative ways to study student success for the low-income student population in higher education.
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Building on Tradition: Approaches to More Inclusive Data Analysis
BrckaLorenz, Allison; Hu, Tien-Ling
Association for Institutional Research Forum, Cleveland, OH, 2023, May.
Institutional research and assessment depends heavily on our ability to characterize the students we study into categories and on our inclination to generalize the results. Although this work is necessary for understanding student experiences, it does present challenges for critical and inclusive approaches to data analysis. In this session, we will discuss common issues and solutions associated with inclusive data analysis by investigating a series of data analysis examples that feature small sample sizes for marginalized students. We will discuss traditional variable-centered versus person-centered methodological approaches, strategies for creating groups to use in comparative analyses, challenges in quantitatively capturing aspects of identity, and tips for communicating the results, validity, and data quality of such analyses to broad audiences.
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Complex Identities: Writing and Using Identity Demographic Questions
BrckaLorenz, Allison
Association for Institutional Research Forum, Denver, CO, 2023, May.
Examining educational quality and student or staff experiences within an institution means we must look at subgroups in the data we collect. Some defining characteristics of the respondent experience can be relatively easy to capture in a survey question, but others, particularly questions about identity, can be a challenge. Often the goals of good survey practice contrast with the variable and complex nature of identity. This session will first focus on how to balance the competing needs of creating clear, concise, and easily answerable questions on aspects of identity that are sensitive, complex, and not easily defined. We will also examine strategies for using and sharing the data and results gathered from complex identity questions. We will look at a variety of examples and scenarios, and participants should prepare to share and discuss their specific population challenges as well as any advice for working with complex identity demographics.
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Exploring Relationships Between Faculty Values for and Practice in Developing Student Quantitative Reasoning
Hu, Tien-Ling & BrckaLorenz, Allison
American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, 2023, April.
The American Association of Colleges and Universities listed quantitative literacy as an essential practical skill. Colleges and universities play a key role in preparing students with career skills. Building on two critical perspectives: the importance of quality teaching to quality learning and the importance of quantitative reasoning in workforce success, the study explores the relationship between faculty values for quantitative reasoning, how much faculty structure their courses to help develop studentsâ?? real-world skills, and to what extent faculty encourage students to participate in career-related activities. The findings show that faculty values for the importance of quantitative reasoning significantly predicted how they structure their courses to help develop studentsâ?? numerical skills and how they encourage students to participate in career-related activities.
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Faculty Feelings Matter: Environmental Experiences of Queer Faculty of Color
BrckaLorenz, Allison; Chamis, Ella; Feldman, Steven
American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, 2023, April.
Despite an emphasis on diversifying the professoriate, higher education has failed to make significant progress in recruiting and retaining diverse faculty in the academy. Literature points to issues of campus climate, discrimination, and workplace stress as common reasons for diverse faculty to leave their positions. Using the College + University Teaching Environment framework, Quare Theory, critical methodological philosophies, and a large-scale multi-institution quantitative dataset, this study examines affective components of a faculty environment for queer faculty, faculty of color, and queer faculty of color. Results indicate strong relationships between perceptions of support, sense of belonging, mental health, and stress with faculty persistence in their role as well as additional stress for LGBQ+ faculty of color.
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An Examination of Environments That Support and Retain Diverse Faculty
BrckaLorenz, Allison; Chamis, Ella
AACU Diversity, Equity, and Student Success, Henderson, NV, 2023, March.
Despite an emphasis on diversifying the professoriate, higher education has failed to make significant progress in supporting and retaining diverse faculty in the academy. In this session, we will present a conceptual framework grounded in empirical research that can guide our understanding of how institutions can create environments to support and retain diverse faculty as well as motivate teaching excellence. Join us for a discussion about the components of this framework, supported by qualitative and quantitative findings from studies that have used this framework as a guide. Participants will leave this session with thoughts on how these components manifest on their campus, ideas for how to assess the teaching environments of their faculty, and suggestions from other attendees about their efforts to support and retain diverse faculty.
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Changing Expectations? Trends in Student Engagement Expectations and Academic Beliefs
Cole, James & Kinzie, Jillian
Annual Conference on The First-Year Experience, Los Angeles, CA, 2023, February.
The past several years has presented many challenges to higher education, including how to effectively align campus support services and academic resources to support students. Using data from Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement (BCSSE) and National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), this session will illustrate trends in student expectations and beliefs. We will also use data from individual campuses (de-identified) to illustrate changes to their entering student body and the connection to actual behaviors reported several months later on NSSE. Discussion will focus on how campuses can keep abreast of student trends and how to best support student success.
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Sense of Belonging in the First Year of College
Wenger, Kevin & Cole, James
Annual Conference on The First-Year Experience, Los Angeles, CA, 2023, February.
Studies have demonstrated the important role of sense of belonging to first-year persistence and overall academic success. Using data from the Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement (BCSSE) and the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), this session will examine entering first-year student expected academic expectations, beliefs, and prior experiences that influence sense of belonging for students near the end of their first-year of college. Results will focus in interventions that can increase social sense of belonging, as well as ways to identify students that may benefit from efforts to increase sense of belonging on their campus.
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First Year Seminars' Influence on Student Engagement and Belonging
Kinzie, J., & Wenger, K.
First-Year Experience and Students in Transition Conference FYE, Los Angeles, CA, 2023, February.
First-Year seminars (FYS) have been vigorously studied and found to positively influence persistence, engagement, and student success. This session will explore new research from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) to understand the relationship between seminars and student engagement, intent to return, and sense of belonging, and how results vary by a range of student identities. Even more, new results from NSSE 2022 distinguish the influence of a success skills-based course from an academic first-year seminar. Join us to explore this evidence and discuss what it suggests for efforts to enhance engagement and equity in first-year student success.
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Faculty Teaching Environments: Supporting & Retaining Diverse Faculty
BrckaLorenz, Allison; Chamis, Ella
AACU Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA, 2023, January.
Despite an emphasis on diversifying the professoriate, higher education has failed to make significant progress in supporting and retaining diverse faculty in the academy. Literature points to issues of campus climate, discrimination, and workplace stress as common reasons for diverse faculty to leave their positions. In this session, we will present a conceptual framework grounded in empirical research that can guide our understanding of how institutions can create environments to support and retain diverse faculty as well as motivate teaching excellence. Join us for a discussion about the components of this framework, supported by qualitative and quantitative findings from studies that have used this framework as a guide. Participants will leave this session with thoughts on how these components manifest on their campuses, ideas for how to assess the teaching environments of their faculty, and suggestions from other attendees about their efforts to support and retain diverse faculty.
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